Clingfish

[DanEnglish]

Any experiences? I have a large diadema urchin. I like the idea that they may eat potential clam pests...

 

[tcmfish]

We have clingfish locally and they are very easy to keep and breed and raise in captivity. Could be a different species, but in your average home aquarium I doubt you would see them much.

 

[rssjsb]

I believe the fish you're asking about is a yellow-striped clingfish, which almost always starves in captivity.

It may be possible to keep them with an urchin to feed on, but it will probably kill the urchin eventually. I've heard of people keeping several urchins to spread out the suffering/impacts on the urchin. The urchin will stunt (which some people find beneficial), but will live longer.

I feel pretty sure that the clingfish Tim is talking about is a different animal altogether. They're sort of ugly, and remind me of a short squat fw pleco.

 

[tcmfish]

Robin thats a good description of the ones I'm talking about.

 

[DanEnglish]

well my urchin is pita. he knocks stuff over and is growing to large. I could get another and then they could feed off the two. What else can you feed them?

 

[rssjsb]

Nothing you can count on it eating. It may take frozen food, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

 

[kactusficus]

Hi, I had one (diademichtys lineatus) for a couple of month until unfortunately it died os a mouth wound who prevented him from eating several days in a row... it was a lovely fish, very curious and funny to watch.
I got him live brine shrimps at the beginning and then moved quickly to frozen one, making him eat live to frozen in about 1 week or 10 days....
He was eating about 5 to 7 brine shrimps a day, and lived with a diadema in my refugium, without harming the urchin.

Cheers,
Sabine

 

[Moort82]

I had one for about a week. I tried every food available alive and dead and couldn't get it interested. The only thing it did eat was the eggs from my cleaner shrimp. It lurked near them and then used to strike out at their underside. It was quite violent so it went back. The lfs claimed it was eating frozen brine and that the ones they had in did well but someone who used to work there said they all died with a week. A cool fish but if you can't feed it.....

 

[tubntxawg]

It just depend on the fish itself, some will eat and some will just not eat and starve themselves... The hardest part is to get them to eat... once they starting eating the BIG worry is gone Good Luck!